Being a good example to others

Found this little excerpt from Mags here...

The key point being presented in the last paragraph...

Why do sad things happen to good people? Probably because they are the ones strong enough to make the whole world smile and dream. They are examples to all of us, they are there to show how strong a positive mind can be. I remember the way his interview ended: With a huge smile on his face, he said: -When it goes well, I smile, when it doesn't go well, I smile too!- he then laughed. It sounds so simple! I guess that is the secret to becoming a champion.

Good stuff. :)

BikesBelong....Boulder Bike Story

Boulder Bike Story from Bikes Belong on Vimeo.

The Breakfast Ride : Adrenaline Trisport Saturday Mornings 10am

What: The Breakfast Ride

When: every Saturday (rain/snow/shine) at 10a (first one rolls on November 7th)

Where: leaving from Adrenaline Trisport in Niwot/Boulder

Route/Details: A, B & C groups with a 7-8 mile neutral roll out from the shop to Hygiene along 75th street for socializing and catching up. Route then continues on Hwy 66 to Lyons for "fruit loops" before returning back to the shop for....

Breakfast: Free coffee from Winot/Folsom St. Coffee Co. will be available as well as a yet to be decided local breakfast yummy. We are working on promoting local companies so some items you may see from week to week are Auntie Kay's Baked Goods, walnut cafe, Garden Cafe, and more. If you have a fav that you think would be a good fit, let us know!

How things have been going

It only just occurred to me that, despite a few posts since the event, none of them touched upon how things have gone since. No wonder seemingly EVERY email i get finishes with, "how's the hand?" I've fallen into twitter only mode as it's far easier to do. Not to mention that every time i have even the slightest motivation to put a thought to key that the prospect of doing so must over come the fact that i'd be typing out said lengthy note with but a single finger manning the responsibilities for the entire left side of the key board. Whooosh!!! That's the sound of any and all desire as well as endorphins getting flushed away. More on that in a bit. Little bit of catch up for now.

I remained in Kona for another two weeks post crash. In retrospect I probably should have just split. At the same time I did very much enjoy my last three days on the island. The days between those two points....mmmmm not so much. At first I had planned on surgery in Kona the following monday but then after consulting with my Boulder docs it was concluded that I should have the surgery here. This finality didn't come around till Sunday and by then i thought that i just might as well stick for the race. Race day was fun as I got to do some spotting work for IMlive during the swim before then holing up in the IMlive office to watch and take some more splits from the cars and scooters on the bike and run courses. Had dinner with Mr. Graves at the awards and then more after party fun at Hugo's. Hit the red eye home (geez i wish there was a non-red eye option for denver) popped off the plane to the bus, to the car, to the doc's and off to dinner and grabbed Mom from Bro'ski. After being up for 34 hours i then slept 14.5 barely waking in time to make it to surgery. This massive sleeping would be (and still is) the post Kona theme. After months of 5-6-7 hour nights the long zzzz’s are welcomed. Mom was absolutely AWESOME (although i was a bit begrudging of her assistance whilst she was here) and helped with all sorts of things a one handed dude cannot attend to with the home.

So nearly a week has passed since she left, going on two from surgery and four from the date of the accident. I think everything is going well but have been impressed with the need I still have for ibuprofen on a regular schedule, the still swollen fingers, pain that comes with no warning or stimulous, and maaaaaaaan i can feel those pins constantly. :)

When faced with the prospect of "forced down time" I had all these visions of "what I would do". I was going to hike, take trips, get social again after a summer of devotion to training and work on new sponsors for the coming year. The reality is staring at mounting medical bills, dwelling on very little income, sleeping for 12+ hours on many days, waning focus, no drive and the odd feelings of depression. I say odd because it's like there are two me's. There's this rational thinking mental me that says gogogogogogogogo, do stuff, do things, be proactive, get your work done but it's up against this physical me that's just really bogged down. Okay, so depressed really is a bit strong wording, but I've been deep enough in the physical/hormonal dumps that no amount of mental fortitude can pull me up out of it. When I’m “stuck” in this rut it feels as though it isn’t me. I definitely have a greater appreciation for those who deal with this constantly. Lucky for me the cure is right there... just look outside and GO OUTSIDE!!! but the action to do so is quite daunting. So that's kind of where i've been…. stuck. The deadline for getting "new business proposals" (sponsorship work) out is this week and the fear of a deadline WILL BE more than enough to motivate me to "get my shit done". Or at least it had better!!! :)

It’s most definitely a trying time and so many people have sent words of encouragement as well as suggestions for how to make my way through it without being regretful on the tail end of the ordeal for what I could have done. The top suggestion seems to be “no matter how bad you feel GET OUT!” I’ll know more about the course the next 5 weeks will take and what I will and wont be able to do in the mean time after I meet with the docs this week. I frankly have no idea what to expect. I will however be looking forward to the new cast I’ll be getting… the current one smells HORRIBLE!

So this probably has got to rank (wrank? ;-) up there as the most negative post of the year. Don’t read me wrong, I’m accepting reality and not sugar coating things thus the transparent account here. I’ve mellowed out a bit and frankly can really see no other option than…. Get healthy, build back up, get faster, go race, compete, dominate, win.

…it’s what I do.

Using sport to spread a message

When you look at elite sport (as opposed to the big TV leagues that are largely entertainment) as only a snapshot in time it can appear to be an incredibly selfish endeavour. This static view is a bit short sighted depending upon whom it is you are viewing. Some folks simply are in it for the racing. Other athletes understand their value as a marketing vehicle and are in it for the racing and the promotion of a sponsor's message, be it an endemic or non-endemic sponsor. Then there are those individuals that are in it for more. They use sport as a platform for a greater message. A message of goodwill, or to be a lightening rod for change. To be a source of inspiration for others to follow. To lead by example. All of these require a certain level of notoriety earned through sporting excellence within one's chosen sport as well as beyond the boundaries (the non endemic) of one's chosen field such that the message reaches a larger audience. I have my own aspirations/agenda with regard to a message beyond sport that I'd love to convey to a wider audience but know that I'll have to bide my time until i get my "medals".

Just my thoughts after watching Simon's video below.

my "how do you go lite" submission

This was a contest to find the most intrepid new "mod-lete" for the new golite website. Just sharing more Colorado love. I'll know on 10/15 if it clicked with them!


To most awesome folks at golite,

To fully understand and appreciate where I am now you have to look back. My headline is quite apropos to where I’ve been, where I am and where I’m going. So first a little background.

Like any suburbanite kid in a bustling city of 7 million you are pushed to go-go-go and fall in line with the rest of society and sign up for the rat race and start working on the “checklist”. High School all A’s and a load of AP courses, Olympic Trials Swim qualifier, University, business school, working corporate finance. All checked off. But what wasn’t checked off was a feeling of fulfillment or purpose. I lived the life that the “checklist” told me to live and yet I got no satisfaction from it. I always felt as though I was living on someone else’s agenda, not mine. Things were not right. Something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on was missing. In the summer of 2006, after a layoff, I moved to Boulder. I had never lived in the mountains and yet on that first day, as I rode higher and higher and higher, up into the thin air I became more alive. I was inspired by all the beauty that was around me. I recall cresting the pass on Hwy 36 into Estes Park early that morning and gazing down into the valley and then beyond it to the high peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park. I still remember the thoughts that floated through my mind that day. “I am never leaving.... I have finally come HOME.” Eventually my new home inspired me to throw away society’s check list, quit my roll in the traditional work force and set out to create a new life. One where I charted my own path and along the way would and am using my life and my experiences to influence others to realize, immerse and, above all, appreciate the beauty that is a life lived outside.

Now into my fourth year in Colorado and I am still finding myself into new and amazing ways to further enjoy and explore all that we have. Whether it be on two feet, two wheels, or two skis I look for every opportunity to get out and enjoy this most amazing environment.

In the winter no amount of white can get this multisporter down. All you gotta do to keep enjoying the outdoors is just change the medium with which you use to play in it! I have this thing about getting high...seriously. When I set out in the summer, my goal is mountain tops or traversing high passes. It’s no different in winter. Instead of boots or trail runners the tools of the trade become snow shoes and AT gear. High peaks and ridgelines are still the goal. For me the going UP and the effort it takes to do so is much more rewarding then the free ride down. In fact I like the ride down to be as fast as possible so I can get back to the UP as soon as I can! If I’m not looking for vertical then you can find me skating on the horizontal in the Fraser Valley. It’s something I’m looking forward to doing more of this coming season and I’m sure to get a boost after going to watch the Nordic events in Vancouver/Whistler.

In the summer, whether it’s sticking to the trails at the foot of the Flatirons or pounding out miles on the dirt roads up in the high country I can’t help but be thankful for every moment that I get to be outside. Vernal mornings on the Switzerland Trail are truly special. The air up high is exceptionally cool, making you forget the heat that will come later in the day down low. As you head out from the lot the grade is steep and your lungs burn as the 9000 foot air deprives you right from the start. So much for a warm up! As you make your way out to the west you are greeted with occasional turnouts with clears views to the Continental divide. The morning summer sun playing on the rock and still existent snow fields of the Indian Peaks.

When it comes to autumn and the two wheeled variety of outdoor-gateway-vehicle-of-choice it’s hard to beat the looong and steady journey up South St. Vrain Canyon out of Lyons all the way to Brainard Lake. As you turn away from the plains and begin to follow the creek up you are still in quite an arid environment with cottonwood and ash along the water, irrigated hay fields and nearly desert like vegetation. Further in the canyon walls close and the cottonwoods begin to give way to more willows. As you climb higher still the flora has now given way to alpine varieties, having been transported down by the water and taken root in the hospitable environs of the cooler canyon. Whereas the surrounding forest may be one of lodgepole or ponderosa pine, near the clear flowing water, it is Fir, Spruce and Aspen that thrive. All of the green and fall color back lit by the most beautiful bluebird fall skies. Up, up, up you go. Passing thru Peaceful Valley and on to Brainard Lake. Welcome to the Alpine. Tundra, glacial lakes, forests, wetlands and streams. This is what my life was missing all along.

Many of my friends think I’m a bit of a nut. One went so far as to say of my constant love of all that is the mountains.... “you should really get the Colorado Board of Tourism to sponsor/hire you”. At first I may come off as a bit hyper and gregarious when speaking of my experiences but once given the chance to settle down I’m incredibly talented at graphically articulating WHY I so dearly love my time and experiences in the outdoors, thereby giving folks a story to remember and build from as I plant the seed of their own outdoor desires. It is this “planting” that I believe my friends would say is my most amiable “outdoor infection” that I spread and thus why they would say I would be the most awesomest mod-lete!

I see my life as one of opportunity and thankfulness. It is my desire that thru my interactions with members of the local multisport community, my blog <>, my twitter <> and my photo-blog <> that I can convey a sense of appreciation and love for the outdoors to others so that they too may set foot outside four walls, ditch the checklist and... Go!(lite) ...of course! :)

Life.Is.Good.

Quote for my road ahead

There's no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There's only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen.
-Wayne Dyer

The biggest day in our sport....and again i have to say..."maybe next year"

I write this on the eve of our sports biggest day. Currently your average consumer knows little nor pays much attention to ITU (sad) and therefore the media and television circus that is Kona is the hub for Triathlon’s message to the world. My goals for the race had been to set the swim course record (current dependent of course) and lead the bike to the TIMEX prime at mile 40. I was BEYOND pleased with how my swimming was going and truly had shocked myself with the times I was turning and the ease with which they came. For now though my goals for this race are nothing more than “shoulda, woulda, couldas”. Words and not actions. I’m not a poet nor an author so it’s unlikely that any amount of prose or composition will earn me a pay check. ;-) Tomorrow I will be spotting for the professional race. I’ll be out on a boat for the swim and am ready for it to be a regretful, painful and gut wrenching experience. I plan to store that and to remember it, to use that raw feeling in my training when need be. I hope to be able to get back to the spotter vehicles in time to head out onto the course. Otherwise I’ll spend the bike back in town… likely cleaning out an email box. I really hope I can catch that ride and view the bike. I’m excited to see my friends and athletes do well and will use their energy and determination to help me assuage the pain of not being able to compete.

In hindsight I should have written a follow up blog to the "life.is.good" post about 4-5 days ago. I received an overwhelming number of emails (100+...for me that's overwhelming :) in support of and commending my attitude and view of life. We (those of us in this sport and western world) sit in the top 1% of quality of life amongst the people of this world. We concern ourselves with the confounding issues of which helmet is more aero or if this type of sugar will be better absorbed into the blood. Rarely do we step aside and pull the blinders off and look around and “see” how quite insignificant the things we “worry” about actually are. Stop for a moment and be thankful for what you’ve got. When I am at home in the awesomeness of Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and I step out of my car at some trail head and set my gaze to the west I cannot help but be thankful for all that I have.

While at the Ironman Canada awards party I joked with a friend that of all the people racing the lowest socio-economic group in attendance was the professional triathletes. Along those lines, something that may not necessarily be implied or assumed by those observing this endeavour, yet is an ever present worry/concern……. the ability to bounce back from obstacles and set backs is highly correlated to one’s financial stability and standing. Faced with mounting medical bills, decreasing coaching income (despite assisting 3 peeps to kona q’s this year) and uncertain contracts for the year(s) to come due to that which I lost in not being able to race here I am filled with fear and trepidation about the future. Despite all of this I STILL hold my head high. Another component of one’s ability to get back up and back into the fight is the community one is surrounded by. At home in Boulder I live in a city where the vocation of professional endurance athlete is a very real and accepted one. In the mornings I wake up and go to the pool, hit the trails or head out on the roads. It’s very likely and probable that I’ll run into a “co-worker” while out training. This camaraderie and feeling of community has an immeasurable affect on my success. We are a community, a family, of athletes. We support each other in our quests for excellence and when one of us goes down we rally to help pick that person up and get them back into the game. I will not waver in my quest to be a better, more complete, more dominating athlete. I have on many occasions in life found myself in some ugly situations but have deftly maneuvered through the rocky times and always landed on my feet and for the better in fact. Where there is a will there is a way. If things are bad/ugly, you WILL find a way to survive. If your life’s pursuit really and truly means something to you then you WILL make it happen. Speed bumps do not and cannot deter you from seizing your goals. My path in the coming months will be a very rough one as I find a way to get by while still pursuing this. Firstly I must get my hand fixed and rehabbed. Training will once again commence and I WILL continue on with this journey. I will not give up, I will not be deterred, I will see this through, I WILL succeed.

Aloha and Mahalo.